Chance Encounters
by ChocoBunnyDrops
Summary: Statistically improbable meetings that leave two souls at the mercy of fate (and the writer's whims). Written for RWBY Relationship Week. Day 2: Reese Chloris and James Ironwood.


**Author's Note:** Hello! RWBYRS week just so happened to fall on a school break, so I was like what the heck I should so totally do this. Esp. after that season finale...

Anyways, all stories are separate and take place at different times/universes unless otherwise stated! They'll probs remain as oneshots unless I get inspiration to write a continuation.

Tbh I couldn't believe I rolled Ruby twice, so I was like how am I supposed to write a fic on this without doing the cliche Ruby has a twin thing. So instead I did a sort of present Ruby reminisces about past Ruby via a childhood diary that she finds. I think Volume 4 is going to be full of character growth for her, and especially that transition from child to adult through the loss of innocence. At the same time, I really hope Ruby stays the cookie-loving girl we all know and love 3

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 **RWBY Relationship Week Day One: Ruby Rose and Ruby Rose**

"AHHHHGGG! I can't find it! I knew I put it here before I left for Beacon!"

Ruby Rose, respected leader of Team RWBY, one of the best Scythe-wielders Vale had ever seen, and apparently destined to be an amazing warrior because of her silver eyes, was currently sprawled on all fours in her bedroom, attempting to locate that pesky first-aid kit.

Under the bed was the only place left to check. Lowering herself onto her belly, she carefully scrunched underneath the low wooden edge, making sure to hold her breath as she wiggled her way through (a years' worth of dust bunnies was the last thing she wanted to breath in).

Aha! Victory at last! Ruby's hand triumphantly closed over the small plastic container, sliding it out as she inched backwards from her bed. But just before she freed herself, she noticed another small box, formerly hidden from sight by the first aid kit. This one was wooden, its red paint faded from old age.

That was strange. Ruby was fairly certain she had never left anything like that under her bed. Nor could she remember owning a chest like that. Oh well. She must have simply forgotten about it. For curiosity's sake, she slid it out along with the first aid kit.

Now that it had emerged from the shadows, Ruby could see the small, sloppy roses painted on it, as well as her own name carved onto the lid. Memories suddenly came flooding back to her, of a time before Beacon, before Signal, even, when she had barely reached Dad's waist and had wanted to keep a diary "like all the girls in the movies did."

With shaky hands she undid the clasp on the chest, long since rusted in the years since she had last opened her "Special Ruby Box". But the diary,her diary, remained almost exactly the same as she was beginning to remember it.

Her fingers gently coaxed the yellowed pages to turn, landing on a random entry. The words 'Yang' and 'Uncle Qrow' immediately caught her attention, so she began reading…

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I had the same dream last night. Yang and I were in a forest that I had never seen before. I was tired, so I think Yang was pulling me in the wagon. For some reason, she looked really worried. I've never seen Yang look so worried before._

 _We stopped outside a weird looking barn. It was falling apart and empty. But Yang said we were finally here. I asked where and she said somewhere, wherever someone named Raven was. I don't know any Ravens, but I think she must not be that smart if she lives in a barn full of holes and dust. I was about to tell Yang that when I saw the eyes._

 _They were red, and glowing, and there were so many of them. But right before they reached us, a swoosh of movement appeared and knocked them away. Yang and I were safe, and then everything goes blurry. I woke up right after that._

 _Dad was away again, so I told Uncle Qrow about it. He told me not to worry. He said it was just a dream. He asked me not to tell Yang about it, which was weird because he knows I tell Yang everything. But Uncle Qrow said just this once I couldn't tell her. He gave me cookies (the special ones that Dad keeps on the top shelf of the cupboard) and said I could choose the movie we watched that night. I chose Beauty and the Beowolf. Uncle Qrow commented on how improbable all of it was, like he always does, but something was different. His eyes didn't have the same sparkle. I wonder if my dream was still bothering him._

 _But Dad's going to come back tomorrow, so we're going to the zoo to see the penguins. I'm super excited! Oops, Uncle Qrow is telling me it's time to go to bed now. I'll write all about our trip tomorrow!_

 _Love, Ruby_

Ruby spent the next few minutes staring at the book in her hands. The Grimm stickers carefully stuck to the cover, the messy scrawl of a child's handwriting…they seemed so far away now, as she was preparing to run away from home to find answers.

She'd never been to Mistral before, had barely ever left Patch until she enrolled at Beacon. What was she doing? Going on a wild goose chase to a place that might not even have what she was looking for. It was a needle in a haystack kind of search, and she was just a little girl. A little girl who had lost the best warrior in her year, her headmaster, and her school all in one fell swoop. Yang refused to talk to her or get out of bed, Weiss was probably in Atlas by now, and Blake hadn't been heard from since the Battle.

Her team was gone. They'd been her life since she'd been made their leader at Beacon. And they were gone, and she was here, and she was breaking her promise to tell them everything so they could solve it as a team.

And what Uncle Qrow had said about her eyes and being some kind of special hero…if that were true, why couldn't she save Pyrrha? Why couldn't she kill the dragon and capture Cinder? Why couldn't she prevent all of this from happening? Maybe Mom had been a destined warrior, but she was just a normal girl with normal knees.

Her eyes drifted to the packed backpack sitting at the foot of her bed. Maps, ammunition, enough food to last a few days-all of it had been secretly collected and stored in the same bag she brought to her first mission at Beacon. Looking at it now kindled memories of sneaking Zwei onto the airship, the feelings of nervous excitement, huddling around a campfire with Weiss, Blake, and Yang while Professor Oobleck recounted tales of the failed civilization.

What she'd give to go back to then.

It was a simpler time, though only in hindsight. The Breach seemed like nothing compared to Cinder's latest attack, mostly because they were able to stop the invading Grimm and _Pyrrha didn't die_ and _Blake didn't run away_ and _Beacon wasn't blown into pieces._

Ruby sighed.

Jaune would be arriving soon. Ren and Nora too. She looked at the first aid kit clutched tightly in one hand, then the diary in the other.

Should she-? No, that was a foolish idea. Weiss would berate her for even considering it. The diary would just be dead weight, and she probably wouldn't have time to write in it anyways. Better to leave it safe at home, protected by an old wooden chest and hidden under her bed like she had done when she was a child.

Because despite what Ozpin and Glynda said, they weren't children.

Not anymore.

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 **Author's Note:** Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear any comments or criticism!

This was my first time writing Ruby, so I'm not completely sure I have her character and voice down. I actually really struggled with the diary part trying to make it sound like something a little kid would write, hence the choppy sentences and basic sentence structures. And of course, later on, I have to wonder if I made her too serious with all the contemplation (although after the battle and losing Pyrrha and setting out on a journey, I'm partial to believing that she'd do a lot of thinking about it all).

Anyways, see you next chapter!


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